w204 base ve upgraded Harman Kardon Stereo

[davec]

I have the base stereo in mine. Not too bad but the stereo in my MDX is better.

Was wondering if the HK upgraded system is significantly better than the base stereo.

Thx

[discoduck]

I've got HK in my SLK and it sounds great. A LOT better than the stock stereo system. It may be different in a w204 though.

If you're planning to upgrade, it might get a little pricey. Better to go aftermarket

[icecube]

you can hear mine

[Eddie_Jai]

Yea Id go with an upgrade with aftermarket speakers if you want better sound.

If you dont want woofers but want that good clear bottem end, you could switch over 2 sets of components to a high end compitition speaker and get the same feel as a small 10 inch woofer. Since its all in the cab, it'll be more then enough for yourself.

Best bang for buck in audio I find is usually speakers, and maybe a small amp to give it some extra power.

If you want woofers to get taht bottem end, you should get a new head unit too. The stock headunit...is....pretty bad...no equilizer or anything, and I dont think it uses the full potential of those speakers (Either the HK or the Bose).

I swaped out my head unit and although I lost my centre channel and the stock tiny (6 inch?) woofer, it still sounded a lot better then the stock head unit. The head unit pushed an extra 50RMS and had a good customizable equilizer.

If you want you can grab another car with HK sound and do that "sound test". Stick the equilizer on "flat" and pop in a really high quality MP3 of "Skater Boy" by avril lagavine (I think I spelt her name wrong) and in....I think the 2nd or 3rd verse theres a synthisizer in the background. If you cant really hear it, then you need more high end.

You can also try the song "XXXO" by M.I.A. and listen for the "lalalala" in around the 45 second mark I think, When all the other packground music is playing.

As for low end just stick in something with flea going crazy on the base and listen for a crispy base note.

[Eddie_Jai]

Oh sorry, I also forgot to mention, the reason why you should get a better head unit if you want woofers. If you just set the stock head unit to whatever setting your woofer might drown out the speakers, and...unless you listen to like dance hall or rick ross all day then it kinda gets anoying.

Radio talk show hosts with deep voices sound terrible when your woofers are to loud, and your speakers arent pushing enough treble.

[discoduck]

Some good info right there

[davec]

First of all this is a great board and I thank you all for your helpful responses.

A few more questions however?

Does any one know the brand of the stock stereo/speakers in the W204? For the HK upgraded car is it just the speakers or the stereo as well?

Any recommendations for a good reputable professional (ie won't damage the car) place that does after market audio upgrades (preferably in Mississauga or somewhere in the west end)?

I'm leaning towards just speaker upgrades. I don't need a boom box, I mostly listen to POP Rock and some classical. I'm not a super audiophile but I can appreciate a good system - my system sounds a little better than at the get go (speakers breaking in?) but I sense a lack of clarity and richness and a bit too much distortion. BTW how many speakers are there in the stock? - I can only clearly localize just 4 (one in each door)

Lastly will speaker upgrades void my warranty or put the car at risk since they may not put it back together properly ex. lots of rattles post speaker upgrades?

I imagine if I get a new stereo as well it will more likely void the warranty

Thank you all

Dave C

[icecube]

Do you have the small speakers beside your rear view mirror?

The stock speakers at the bottom of the doors are held in by rivets, so you will need to drill them out if you want to swap them.

[Eddie_Jai]

Sorry I dont know to much about how the 204 is set up.

On most benz's Ive seen, there should also be a centre channel in the middle of the dash usually ontop, behind the middle vents, and you should have a stock woofer, a really really tiny one that would be in what looks like speaker mounts on the rear deck. You might be able to see them from the trunk if you peel away the carpeting. They made it so that the trunk becomes the woofer box, so a small woofer would be enough since its in the cab.

I find that if you listen to rock and pop, a decent set of components is enough, if your not to crazy about how it sounds. Small bands sound good on regular high end component speakers, but if you regularly listen to classical or big band jazz. Anything with a large group of instruments, I find that the only way to go is to get a competition set of speakers, and upgrade all the tweeters and put in a small woofer, a decent amp is needed to power it all too, or else you may drown out the background iinstruments (Especially woodwinds).

I really cant listen to igor stravinsky with crappy speakers, it ruins the experience. Actually its why I go see live jazz and rarly listen to jazz and classical on stereos or speakers. It just doesnt...sound...right....

[davec]

Just called Kromer radio and East Hamilton radio

They recommend all or nothing. I guess I'll have to live with the stock radio for now

[Eddie_Jai]

Man of course they want all or nothing, they want to take as much money as possible. They know that most people who buy audio equipment, usually buy one thing, and never return again.

You rarly hear someone say "I gotta go to my audio guy and pick up some parts". The customer return is maybe once a year, and thats a loyal customer.

They want you to spend like 6 grand on a whole system because they know that once thats done, they've made all the money possible from you all at once. If you buy speakers from there, you'll probably been shopping around, and you might buy woofers somewhere else, ect ect...

Id say go and ask a million questions, find out what type of speakers you use, if you need shallow mount or not, if theres a wierd...built in box for the speakers (Like in the w202s) and just go through kijiji or use like small mom and pop shops. Remember...the ghetto looking shops are always the best shops lol.

If they got a 52 inch LED tv in the waiting room...its probably because, your paying for it with your install.

[AndrewSprinterVan]

Your best bet to upgrade from stock to premium sound system is find a wrecked car and pull all the equiptment out of it... otherwise it will be financially impossible to pay for all the new equiptment at a dealer or auto store... I was un aware that audio shops could get mercedes parts to do the upgrade.

When switching to bose in lets say w202 you have to remove all the wireing and componets and start from scratch... this will be the same when switching to the HK system in the w204.

You could allways contact steve if your really serious about the upgrade.